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‘Charging Up’ Their Faith
OUR COMMUNITY
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B’NAI ISRAEL
Jennifer Odza charges her vehicle at Temple B’nai Israel.
Kalamazoo’s B’nai Israel puts faith into action with electric vehicle charging station.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
If you’re driving an electric or hybrid vehicle around Kalamazoo and need some charging power, you could head to the parking lot at Temple B’nai Israel. The congregation maintains two power lines available to anyone.
The charging station, installed last June, might impress onlookers as strictly an expression of environmental concerns, but the congregation also is expressing a modernized approach to spirituality. Its introduction happened in what has been designated a shmitah year, according to Torah teachings — 2021-22 in line with the Hebrew calendar year of 5782.
Although shmitah years historically have been observed as times to give the ground a rest by leaving it fallow, Temple B’nai Israel has extended the concept to address current concerns in nature by promoting relief from carbon emissions.
National recognition of the dual objective has brought the temple $1,500 as one of six national winners of the Interfaith Power and Light Cool Congregations Annual Award for Leadership and Sustainability.
“The charging station became part of the conversation when we started discussing the shmitah year and our role as stewards of the Earth,” said Rabbi Simone Schicker. “We questioned what that means outside of the land because there’s argument that shmitah is not only about the biblical land itself.
“We have a Green Team that took on actions we could take right now to make an impact, and a piece of it was that we have a number of congregants with electric cars and hybrid cars who felt it was something that would both benefit the immediate car nation and be a statement of our values.
“It became a statement that we have responsibility to our planet and to our neighbors as well.”
THE GREEN TEAM
Steering the project — and all temple environmental projects — is Green Team leader Steven Bertman, professor of environment and sustainability at Western Michigan University and former volunteer building manager for the temple. He is an environmental chemist who also implements his principles at home and advocates for conservation throughout the community.
Part of the impetus for developing the charging station came from learning about financial incentives offered by a local power company.
“I’m constitutionally disposed to conserving energy, and ever since I was in high school, I wanted solar panels,” said Bertman, who has them installed on his own home. “Renewable energy seemed like it was a no-brainer and, 40 years later, when we’re still burning fossil fuels, I finally bit the bullet and bought an electric car.
“I think for a lot of people, the barrier to getting an electric car is that it’s different. We have to learn a new thing. That certainly was part of it for me. I got the car and learned all the things I needed to do, including the use of charging options — how fast vehicles charge and the differences between wiring. That’s how I learned about the rebate program.”
The program covered 90 percent of the temple installation.
“There’s a fee structure that covers the cost of the electricity so the temple isn’t making a profit, but it’s not taking a loss in terms of the electricity,” Bertman said. “Any driver can pull into our parking lot, scan payment information with a cell phone, using either an established account or credit card identification, and plug in.
“A big part of my motivation was to raise awareness and make it less scary to try something new.”
Members of the congregation can charge their cars while attending services or meetings, thereby taking care of religious interests while vehicles are powering up. On average, a two-hour charge would cost the user about $3.64 for some 60 miles in range. For a comparable range using gasoline, the current cost in Michigan would be about $8.78.
Jennifer Odza is a temple member who regularly powers up her vehicle at times she is pursuing congregational commitments.
“I really appreciate that our congregation is making meaningful efforts to be environ-
B’NAI ISRAEL
mentally conscious and to be part of an effort of like-minded faith organizations,” Odza said. “Having EV chargers at Temple B’nai Israel makes it easy and convenient for me to recharge my car.
“I hope that someday soon we will all take for granted that chargers are nearly everywhere we travel. For now, I’m happy to know that our congregation is out front in encouraging sustainable practices.”
Bertman likes to pass along temple experiences to other groups and presents a slide show he has developed.
“I’m a founding member of a group in Kalamazoo that we call Hope for Creation, an affiliation of faith communities in the region trying to get people to act on climate change,” Bertman said.
“We organize actions and activities so, during the pandemic, we created a monthly series for congregational green teams, bringing in teams from faith communities to share what they’re doing and how they’re doing it to learn from each other.
“I thought it was time for us to bring it up a notch in terms of what we’re doing to live our Jewish values in terms of our responsibilities for stewarding the natural world.”
Since Bertman has begun speaking about the Temple B’nai Israel charging station before neighboring faith centers and welcoming opportunities to speak before any groups near and far, two other congregations have installed their own. Kalamazoo’s Congregation of Moses, another Jewish worship center, has one in the works.
Carolyn Kennedy, a Congregation of Moses board member, explained the project will take a while.
“We learned about the processes through Steve’s presentation,” said Kennedy, who is not ready to give a completion date. “It’s a slow process because of the infrastructure involved.”
Rabbi Schicker, who has solar panels on her home and anticipates buying an electric vehicle, reports that the award money will help shine additional light on environmental practices.
“At least some of the money is going directly toward replacing light fixtures to more energy-efficient options,” the rabbi said. “It’s another expression of our values and the way that we interpret Torah to be cognizant of our impact on our planet. It excites me and makes me very proud that my community wants to be invested in this way.”
Steven Bertman charges his car as Rabbi Simone Schicker learns about the process.
YISS Shavuot Bake Sale
Bringing the community together through baked goods.
Floral arrangement from Silverbelle Bouquet
RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The Young Israel of Southfield Sisterhood (YISS) is hosting its first Shavuot bake sale next week. The holiday begins Saturday, June 4, to commemorate the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Shirli Gotlib, co-president of YISS, says the goal is to bring everyone back together in person and lift their spirits while enjoying traditional baked goods.
“During COVID, everyone was experimenting in the kitchen with new recipes,” Gotlib said. “We thought it would be a good way to share delicious creations with everyone and create new connections in the community.”
Throughout the beginning of the pandemic, Gotlib says the shul did most things virtually and now that things are slowly going back to normal, the sisterhood hopes to have more in-person events like the Shavuot Bake Sale. Before the pandemic, Gotlib says they used to do events like Mystery Shabbos to help connect families.
“On Shabbos, families would come to shul, and we would give them a map of where they’re going for Shabbos dinner,” Gotlib explained. “Members would be able to connect with other families who maybe don’t know each other so well and would have a Shabbos meal together.”
Those interested in baking for the sale can sign up online to bake multiple desserts. The bake sale begins Thursday, June 2, at 7 p.m. at 22455 Chatsford Circuit St. in Southfield. Flowers will also be available for sale from fellow shul member Naomi Gardin of SilverBelle Bouquet. All proceeds from the event will benefit the YISS.
For more about the Shavuot Bake Sale and to sign up, go tofacebook. com/youngisrael.southfield.
